How to Find out if Equifax Hack Exposed You to Identity Theft

A cybersecurity breach at Equifax, one of the three major credit monitoring companies, has exposed the personal data of 143 million people to online hackers. The information obtained by the exploit includes credit card numbers, birth dates, social security numbers, addresses, and driver's license numbers.

As a credit bureau, Equifax reports consumers' personal financial information to lenders, who rely on the data to determine whether or not to provide financing, and at what interest rates.

The hack was discovered back on July 29, but the company waited until September 7 to warn consumers. Additionally, three of the company's top executives sold $1.8 million worth of stock shortly after the hack was discovered. Following the September 7 announcement, Equifax shares fell 13 percent.

The company claims the executives "had no knowledge that an intrusion had occurred at the time they sold their shares."

Credit card numbers for around 209,000 consumers were exposed in the breach, as well as documents related to credit reporting disputes for 182,000 people.

To find out if your personal information was compromised and you're at risk for identify theft, the company has set up a website at https://www.equifaxsecurity2017.com/, where consumers can learn whether or not their information was exposed.